Tramping! Pic heavy!

Syncop8r · **Reply #60 on:** October 19, 2015, 01:28:00 PM

Abel Tasman Inland Track: A three-day trip over the higher inland areas of the Abel Tasman National Park at the North end of the South Island (Te Wai Pounamu), New Zealand (Aotearoa). Less tourist-infested than the more popular Abel Tasman Coastal Track (which can also be accessed by kayak as documented here: http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,57308.msg1032000.html#msg1032000).

Abel Tasman Inland Track Day 1 03-10-2015: Marahau - Castle Rocks Hut

We (my brother, two of his friends and I) started on the coastal track and after half an hour's walk took the Inland Track turnoff which climbed steadily up through the Kanuka:

Looking back to Marahau:

Fashioning a walking pole out of a dead Kanuka stick with my Wenger Ranger:

Adele Island:

Anchorage and Pitt Head. Marlborough Sounds and D'Urville Island beyond:

Holyoake Clearing Shelter:

Rimu tree:

After 7 hours walking we reached Castle Rocks Hut.

Syncop8r · **Reply #61 on:** October 19, 2015, 01:39:21 PM

Abel Tasman Inland Track Day 2 04-10-2015: Castle Rocks Hut - Awapoto Hut

Tasman Bay from Castle Rocks in the morning:

Castle Rocks Hut. I stayed here and the others sleptin their tents:

Getting up to about 1000m:

Moa Park Shelter (lunch stop):

Water resupply:

Lots of windfall:

Finally we reached Awapoto Hut after 8 hours through forest with hardly any views.

Gerhard Gerber · **Reply #62 on:** October 19, 2015, 01:53:15 PM

Thanks for sharing, you are lucky indeed for having such beautiful areas to explore.

Syncop8r · **Reply #63 on:** October 19, 2015, 01:56:58 PM

Abel Tasman Inland Track Day 3 05-10-2015: Awapoto Hut - Totaranui

Sunrise at Awapoto Hut:

Awapoto Hut:

View of Golden Bay as we descend:

Wainui Inlet:

Can you see the house?:

Wainui Inlet; Golden Bay beyond:

Through some farmland:

Kereru:

Nearly at Totaranui:

The campground at Totaranui, after 5 hours walking:

Where we waited for our Water Taxi home:

Aloha · **Reply #64 on:** October 19, 2015, 04:13:39 PM

Some breath taking views. Question tho, are these huts pre arraigned? Or is it a first come first serve? Either way its nice theres shelter available for hikers. Also does the water have to be treated to be safe to drink?

Syncop8r · **Reply #65 on:** October 20, 2015, 08:23:16 AM

Quote from: Aloha007 on October 19, 2015, 04:13:39 PM

Some breath taking views. Question tho, are these huts pre arraigned? Or is it a first come first serve? Either way its nice theres shelter available for hikers. Also does the water have to be treated to be safe to drink?

Down on ther popular Coastal Track the huts are expensive and need to be pre-booked (as do tent sites - you may only camp at the official campsites to protect the environment).
Also I wouldn't touch the water there; Giardia is a real problem due to tourists defacating ON THE TRACKS which act as watercourses during rain and eventually end up in the creeks.

Up here on the Inland Track however, the huts are known as "Backcountry Huts" and are really cheap: $5NZD per night (about $3USD?).
First come - first served. Each hut has around 8-10 bunks but I have heard of people sleeping on the floor or out on the verandah when full. They are simple and usually have a table, a woodfire, a stainless steel bench and a water source and longdrop outside.
We drank from the streams with no issues at all. On the second day there were no creeks near the track for most of the way so I carried 2 litres of water in two Camelbak bottles.

firiki · **Reply #66 on:** October 20, 2015, 04:05:59 PM

Gorgeous scenery! I should love to spend some time exploring landscape over there.

Thanks for sharing those pics ( and

for makin' me

)

sir_mike · **Reply #67 on:** October 20, 2015, 05:08:44 PM

Wow, beautiful area to hike around! You are a lucky guy and great pics!

zoidberg · **Reply #68 on:** October 21, 2015, 09:58:27 AM

Kick ass thread.

Syncop8r · **Reply #69 on:** October 21, 2015, 10:06:08 AM

I wonder what the easiest way to add maps is?

zoidberg · **Reply #70 on:** October 21, 2015, 10:15:08 AM

PrtScn and attach?

Syncop8r · **Reply #71 on:** July 07, 2016, 01:07:19 PM

TABLELAND CIRCUIT 1

Okay, I did this in Mid-Summer and it is now Mid-Winter so it has taken me six months to sort through all the photos and get them posted here. Photobucket doesn't like portrait photos taken on my phone and tries to rotate them so we are fighting back and forth, so apologies if that happens here.

Tableland is an area in the Upper Takaka River catchment of Golden Bay, which is at the Northern end of the South Island (Te Wai Pounamu or Te Waka a Maui) of New Zealand/Aotearoa.

Tableland Circuit 1 Day 1: Cobb Dam Road - Balloon Hut

Firstly, my gear list: (I don't have a PLB or GPS yet)

I drove up the Cobb Dam Road and past the Cobb Power House on the Takaka River:

The start of the track:

The track is very easy to begin with, being an old road:

After an hour I reached an old asbestos mine:

The track continued going up:

I soon reached Asbestos Cottage, former residence of Mr and Mrs Chaffey, where I stopped for lunch:

I set off again and the track got narrower:

Climbing up the Bullock Track:

Introduced (pest) wasps feeding off the honeydew produced by scale insects living in the sooty mould on Beech Trees: http://sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Hidden-Taonga/NZ-Research/Honeydew-ecosystem

From Red Beech to either Silver or Mountain Beech:

Up onto Peat Flat:

There was some protection from possums for some trees out in the middle of nowhere:

I then climbed up Peel Ridge with views of Cobb Reservoir:

Out of the forest and continuing up Peel Ridge:

Lake Peel is just around the corner:

Looking back:

Continuing on:

Gordon's Pyramid on the left, Mt Arthur in the middle and The Twins on the right. Balloon Hut is in one of the clearings on the right:

Looking West into the Leslie Karamea:

Balloon Hut:

One of the resident Weka:

I shared the hut with a great bunch of people and we played cards and other games.
So that was the first day. Did I warn you this thread is pic-heavy?

firiki · **Reply #72 on:** July 07, 2016, 01:18:01 PM

I want to take a long vacation over there. I can't see that happening anytime soon though

Thank for the guided tour, mate.

Syncop8r · **Reply #73 on:** July 07, 2016, 01:40:11 PM

Tableland Circuit 1 Day 2: Balloon Hut - Cobb Dam Road

From Balloon Hut I continued circuiting around Tableland:

Mt Arthur and The Twins:

Salisbury Lodge and Gordon's Pyramid:

Mt Arthur:

Pressing on, I visited Dry Rock Shelter:

Growler

Shelter:

Crossing a swingbridge at Upper Junction:

This next section of track is also used by mountainbikers. They must have riled up some wasps as I got stung by one after they passed through.

Another swingbridge to cross, this one at Lower Junction:

After this I rejoined the track I was on yesterday and went back past Asbestos Cottage and the asbestos mine and out to the road.

Day 1 was about 8 hours including lunch.
Day 2 was less, maybe about 5 hours?

Lastly, a souvenir:

Syncop8r · **Reply #74 on:** July 07, 2016, 02:06:36 PM

I found a map of the area. My trip followed most of the green route, then anti-clockwise and back on itself.

ducttapetech · **Reply #75 on:** July 07, 2016, 02:35:19 PM

Wow! Beautiful area! Hope the toe healed up fast.

Nate

zoidberg · **Reply #76 on:** February 01, 2021, 10:49:47 PM

Few pics from the new Casey Hut.

SteveC · **Reply #77 on:** February 01, 2021, 10:55:12 PM

Top-Gear-24 · **Reply #78 on:** February 01, 2021, 11:25:12 PM

Stunning scenery

.

Awesome pics Zoidberg

.

zoidberg · **Reply #79 on:** February 02, 2021, 09:06:59 AM

Cheers fellas.
Even though it is summer a front had rolled through a couple days earlier and dumped snow down to a 1000m just one range over.
However the focus of this trip was to spend time with the kid so my pic taking was pretty fail.